


In Winters, There is a Genius

by Blueleaf12



Series: The Music of Earthbound [2]
Category: Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, shout out to Poo being a bro and a wingman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 10:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19424197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueleaf12/pseuds/Blueleaf12
Summary: There's one person Jeff needs to see before the final battle with Giygas.





	In Winters, There is a Genius

**Author's Note:**

> Here's an unofficial sequel to my previous Earthbound fic, A Cliff that Time Forgot. It's not required to read before you read this one, but you should check it out anyway if you like!
> 
> EDIT (July 8th 2019): I just noticed I didn’t actually name Jeff’s school. I fixed that.  
> EDIT (July 8th 2019) TWO: I noticed MORE stuff I accidentally left in during the initial writing process I didn't initially catch because I didn't really proofread it. I also fixed that.  
> EDIT (July 9 2019) the Electric Boogaloo: I didn't realize Poo doesn't actually learn PSI fire at all. Well, I suppose if Paula can teach Ness PSI fire and thunder for Smash, she can teach Poo Fire α.

Jeff knew he was home when that familiar cold air rubbed his cheeks raw. 

He and Poo skidded to a halt from Poo’s Teleport α, digging a long trench of snow in their wake. The psychic fire behind them melted the snow further to the dead grass under it, then went out. 

Jeff almost ran face first into the snowbank in front of him from the teleport. He took a few seconds to dust snow off his clothes and fish for his glasses. “Poo? You good?”

“Y-yeah.” Poo managed.

To Jeff, the world came into crisp clarity once his glasses were on. It wasn’t just a white smudge with a vague Poo outline. Now, it was a clear, snow filled image with Poo shivering up a storm.

Poo’s cheeks were bright red, and he held himself tightly. “A-aren’t you cold?” He asked Jeff.

Jeff shrugged. “Not really. But,” he looked around, shielding his eyes to the glare reflecting off the snow, “it does look like more snow fell since the last time I was here. A _lot_ more.”

“M-my shoes are _soaked._ Let’s g-go inside before I-I freeze out here.” Poo managed.

Tromping through the knee calf high snow, they approached the main gates of Snow Wood Boarding House. The tall, iron gates loomed overhead, casting long shadows over Poo and Jeff. Poo looked up to them in awe.

Jeff went over and grabbed the iron gates. The cold metal threatened to burn his fingers. He quickly let it go and shoved his hands in his pockets. He looked at Poo. “Help me up, will you?”

With shaking hands, Poo hefted Jeff up onto his shoulders. Jeff grabbed onto the top of the gate, using his jacket to protect his hands, before vaulting over the gate. He landed hard on the other side, kicking up the powdery snow.

He turned around to face Poo on the other side of the gate, then backed up to give Poo some space. Jeff watched Poo cast Fire α on _himself,_ specifically on his hands. Then, he watched Poo scale the fence no problem, the snow under Poo’s hands sizzling and melting.

Poo landed gracefully next to Jeff, and the Fire α dissipated. He then ran towards the front door, faster than Jeff could (affectionately) call him a showoff. 

As soon as they were inside, the warmth hit Jeff and Poo like a slap. A welcoming slap, but a slap all the same.

Poo rubbed at his painful red cheeks. He seemed stunned by the uncomfortable stinging he felt. He was about to say something as he looked around, but stopped. He looked in awe around the main foyer.

Jeff looked around too as he stomped snow off his boots on the soaked mats in front of the door. The foyer was empty. Not even a few stragglers here and there hanging out with their friends or doing last minute homework. It was _that_ empty, and filled Jeff with a disappointment and loneliness he didn’t know was possible. 

“Where is everyone?” Jeff asked, more to himself while Poo wandered the room taking it in. “Usually it’s not this dead unless it’s… lunchtime.”

One quick glance at his watch confirmed this. “Crap, it _is_ actually lunch.”

He expected his stomach to grow at the mention of lunch, but it didn’t. He knew the time in that weird cave was a little screwy, but not _that_ much. 

“Hey, Poo, c’mere! You’re tracking snow and water everywhere!” Jeff called. Poo came over to Jeff and wiped his shoes off as best as he could, his expression sheepish. 

“Also, I think I know where everyone might be. It’s this way.” Jeff said, walking quickly towards where the lunchroom was.

They stopped in front of the doors leading to the lunchroom. Through the windows on the door, Jeff could see rows of faces eating at rows of tables. 

Suddenly, Jeff felt nervous. It was a stomach clenching anxiety he didn’t know was possible. He felt like he was going to choke. “Poo, I… think you ought to stay behind here. I can go in alone and do this.”

Poo shook his head. “No way. If you go in on your own, you’re probably not gonna talk to Tony. Besides, I wanna meet him and your other friends.”

Jeff felt a dull blush creep up his face. “Since when were _you_ my wingman?”

“Ever since I decided to teleport you here. Let’s go.” Before Jeff could object, Poo walked over and opened the door. 

Poo misjudged his strength and the weight of the door. He pushed too hard, and the door slammed against the wall on the inside of the room. The sound reverberated through the whole room, leaving behind a loud echo.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes snapped to Jeff and Poo standing in the middle of the doorway. The constant drone of students talking stopped as everyone fell silent. Poo stood there, looking stunned, while Jeff went even brighter red like a deer in coloured headlights. 

Silence filled the room, so silent one could hear a pin drop.

The door closed gently behind Poo and Jeff.

All hell broke loose.

The boys in the lunchroom started talking at once. After a second of trying to take it in, it sounded more like shouting. A chorus of seats scraping against the floor sounded as a wave of students got up from their tables, their lunches long forgotten as they crowded around Jeff and Poo.

“Hey Jeff! Long time no see! Can I still copy that English assignment you said I could? It was due like a week ago!”

“I can’t believe you actually saved those two kids you heard in that dream you had! I kind of thought you were a little crazy at first, not gonna lie.”

“I _can’t_ believe you actually got yourself involved with this! This saving the world crap. You _can’t_ just trust random voices in your head!”

“Hey, who’s this random kid?”

Jeff took a step back, away from the growing crowd around him. However, he didn’t get far; the closed door to the lunchroom trapped him there. He felt his throat threaten to close up, and his heart threaten to explode out of his chest. 

He fought the urge to sob in the spot. 

Suddenly, a silence fell on the crowd. Wrestling with himself, Jeff managed to look up at the now suffocating silence. He watched as the crowd parted down the middle, right in front of him. 

At the end of that part was Tony. 

Jeff watched as Tony, normally a shy and reserved boy, shove past some boys that were still in his way. And then, Jeff heard his voice. A voice that he had not heard clearly since leaving Winters. “Jeff!”

Jeff stared, bug eyed, at Tony. Watched as Tony ran the distance between them and barrelled into Jeff, pulling him into a tight, desperate embrace. 

It took Jeff a few seconds to process what was happening, and finally to relax. He hugged Tony back, his arms shaking. He swore Tony could feel his heart hammering in his chest, but Tony did not comment. 

Jeff did feel, however, all the boys around them staring at him. They burnt holes into his back.

Finally, Tony pulled away. He busied himself with straightening Jeff’s glasses as the words tumbled out of his mouth. “W-what are you doing here? You usually just call me to tell me how things are going…”

Still flushed, Jeff cleared his throat. “I-I’m sorry, I forgot to call ahead of time. Besides, there was no time to find a phone.” He looked at Poo, who nodded back. Jeff then looked back to Tony. “We’re nearing the end, Tony. Before we beat… you know who. There’s not a lot of time. I…” He blushed, even deeper. “Can I talk to you in private… outside?”

“I… of course you can.” Tony said, a little stunned. Neither noticed or commented on the whistles that traveled through the crowd of twelve year olds. 

“Hey, this is serious here!” Poo yelled into the crowd, and the crowd fell silent again.

Tony lead Jeff back outside of the lunchroom. Tony went outside, and left Jeff to have one last word with Poo. “Do… do you think you can… y’know… deal with everyone? While we’re…” Jeff gave a vague gesture towards the door Tony went through. 

Poo gave another nod to Jeff, before running through the parted crowd, right towards an empty lunch table. “Hey guys, check this out!”

Jeff heard all the boys cheer and gasp just as the door swung shut behind him, muffling the sound.

Now, he and Tony were alone.

Jeff stood there with Tony, feeling awkward again. Tony also stood there, looking equally as awkward. 

Tony was the one to break the silence. He seemed to be ready to burst at the sudden news of… the end. “Jeff, what’s wrong? You seem… different, from the last time I saw you… when you first left. And who’s that other kid?” Tony gestured to the window, where Jeff vaguely saw Poo do a backflip off the table. 

“That’s…. Ah, my other friend. He’s from Dalaam. He’s a prince.” Jeff said, rather lamely. “I know he might not look--or act-- like a prince, but he is one.”

“...I see.” Tony said, looking skeptical. “You didn’t answer my first question, though. What’s wrong? What did you want to talk to me about?”

Jeff got nervous all over again. He fiddled with a loose piece of string on his blazer, one that Poo insisted he could fix. Jeff waved him off every time. “I… it’s about the final battle. We have to go back in time to defeat… you know who. Da--Dr. Andonauts made a Phase Distorter to bring us back.” Jeff paused, trying to figure out the best way to word his next sentence. “I… I don’t know if… if we’ll come back. After defeating you know who.” 

Tony stared at Jeff with wide eyes, and sucked in a breath from between his teeth. He cursed under his breath, but it was loud enough Jeff heard him. Then he spoke, his voice sounding strained like someone just punched him in the gut. “I’m going to kill your father.”

“I… I thought you’d say something like that.” Jeff said, deciding it would be best not to go into details about the… _small glitch_ the Phase Distorter had with sending humans back in time. “But… there’s no other way around this. To save everyone… _I have to go._ ” He paused. “I didn’t want to tell you all this over the phone… I thought I should tell you in person.”

Tony, stunned, didn’t reply. 

“I’m… I’m really sorry, Tony.” Jeff said. His voice threatened to crumble under the weight of his words. “I know… I know Ness, Paula, and Poo have accepted their fate… but I still have _you_ left behind. If I didn’t have anyone else left behind… this would be easier for me.”

Tony didn’t reply. There was another muffled cheer from behind the doors.

“But… that’s not the only thing I wanted to tell you in person.” Jeff said, sweating buckets. His throat went dry, threatening to close up all over again.

Tony looked like he was going to cry. “I-If it’s more bad news, I’m going to lose my mind.”

Jeff reached over and took Tony’s hand in his own. He stayed like that for a few seconds, just taking in Tony’s presence. He stared at Tony, and Tony stared back. 

“Would loving you be bad news?” Jeff asked, his voice a mere whisper. 

Jeff watched Tony’s face go from confusion, to realization, to embarrassment.

Jeff gave Tony’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I… didn’t realize initially how much you liked me. I know that I might be a little dense sometimes, but… it was that faith in me when you let me go to Threed that opened my eyes. And when you’d call to check on me… no one had ever done that before.” Jeff paused, looking away. “Not even Dr. Andonauts.”

“Don’t make me cry, Jeff.” Tony managed, his own voice giving away.

“I thought of you every day while on this journey. Not one day went by that I didn’t miss you.” Jeff paused again as he looked back at Tony, locking eyes with him. “It wasn’t until the threat of the end of the world that… I realized my feelings for you. I wasn’t ignoring them, I just… didn’t know them yet.”

Tony gave a half laugh, half sob. “You cram too much crap in that brain of yours to know your own feelings.”

Jeff managed a small laugh too, one that quickly fell apart. “I guess so.” He said, his voice breaking at the last syllable. 

Tony broke away and wiped at his face in an attempt to compose himself. Jeff did the same, smudging his glasses to hell. Silence fell between them, neither knowing what to say.

Tony broke the silence again. He moved closer to Jeff as Jeff put his glasses back on his face. “Can… can I kiss you? Before… you go?”

As soon as their lips touched, Jeff vaguely heard the other boys cheer one last time, the loudest cheer of all. That followed by Poo calling Jeff’s name through the door.

In that moment, he didn’t know if the other boys were cheering for him or for Poo.

But in that moment, it didn’t matter.


End file.
